EVA Air launched its new service between Chicago and Taipei, Taiwan in Novamber. The inaugural flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport was celebrated Nov. 2, with a water cannon salute by the Chicago Fire Department upon the flight's arrival, a reception at the gate and tours of the aircraft for guests and media.
To start, EVA Air is operating four nonstop flights a week between Chicago and Taipei with its latest-model, Wi-Fi equipped Boeing 777-300ERs configured for 333 passengers in three classes. Chicago is EVA's eighth gateway in North America, joining Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver on the airline's trans-Pacific schedule.
EVA Air flight BR55 departs Chicago O'Hare at 12:20 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and lands at Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport at 5 a.m. the next day. EVA Air flight BR56 departs Taoyuan at 8:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and arrives in Chicago at 8:55 p.m. the same day.
"We have steadily developed, expanded and upgraded our global network and Chicago is an important link," said EVA President Derek Chen. "By introducing our new Chicago route and increasing service from other North America cities, EVA will be offering 80 flights a week to Asia by the end of this year. Our trans-Pacific flight frequency will outnumber that of every other airline in the North America market. From these flights, our passengers can take one-stop connections from Taipei on to 12 major cities in Southeast Asia and experience the comfortable, convenient advantages of travel with EVA."
"EVA Air is the first Taiwanese carrier to serve Chicago with nonstop passenger service," said Ginger S. Evans, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA). "New international air service has enormous benefits for our economy. EVA's service to Taipei will generate $200 million in estimated annual economic impact for the Chicago metropolitan region."
